Sfenj (Moroccan Doughnuts)
Morocco
Senior Editor
London, United Kingdom ·
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Sfenj are Moroccan doughnuts made from a very wet yeasted dough, shaped into rings by hand and deep-fried. They are crisp outside, chewy inside, and sold hot from street stalls across the country. The dough is the whole difficulty and the whole point. It is deliberately too sticky to knead or roll, closer to a thick batter than a bread dough, and that high hydration is what produces the light, chewy, open interior. Working it with dry hands is impossible, which is why the method has you keep a bowl of water beside you and wet your hands before touching it. Adding flour to make it manageable would be the obvious mistake and would give you a dense, ordinary doughnut. The street version is worth picturing. Vendors lift the finished sfenj from the oil with skewers and thread them onto a ribbon of palm leaf so customers can carry several at once. Some ask for them flattened and returned to the oil for a second fry, which makes them crisper still. Timing matters more than most fried things. Sfenj are eaten hot; cold, they go tough and lose the contrast entirely. The source's stated oil temperature is worth following, it is more specific than most.
Sfenj are Moroccan doughnuts made from an unkneaded, high-hydration yeasted dough, shaped into rings and deep-fried. They are sold hot by street vendors, who thread them onto ribbons of palm leaf, and are eaten plain or dusted with sugar.
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Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of the warm water in a small bowl and leave it to proof for 10 to 15 minutes.
Combine the flour with the salt and the remaining cup of warm water in a large bowl. Work in the yeast mixture and beat vigorously with your hand or a heavy wooden spoon until smooth. The dough should be far too sticky to knead or shape, almost a thick batter. Do not add flour to make it manageable.
Cover the bowl with a towel and leave the dough to rise for 3 to 4 hours, until doubled or tripled in bulk.
Heat 2 to 3 inches of vegetable oil in a wide, deep pot over medium heat to 365°F / 185°C.
Set out a bowl of water. Dip your hands in it, pull off a piece of dough about the size of a small plum, make a hole in it with your fingers, stretch the hole wide into a ring, and lower it into the hot oil.
Repeat until the pot is comfortably full without crowding, wetting your hands as often as you need so the dough does not stick to them.
Fry until golden brown, turning once or twice.
Lift the sfenj onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain, and repeat until the dough is used up.
Dip the hot sfenj in granulated sugar or dust with icing sugar if you like.
Serve hot or warm, they lose their texture entirely once cold.
Personal notes from Nympha NzeribeBe the first to rate this recipe
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